When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

In the past 30 years, light artists have reimagined an art form that has always had the ability to turn the night sky, or a simple window, into luminescence. Last fall, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts turned its southern glass wall into a parade of sound-sensing lights, Lightswarm, that changes with the movements of nearby people and things. Future Cities Lab, the San Francisco design company behind Lightswarm, has originated another notable light sculpture. Located by the YBCA's steps at 701 Mission, Murmur Wall will light up in arresting ways as it incorporates local trending search engine results and social media postings. Onlookers can offer their own contributions, which will feed into the Murmur Wall's data stream and light up the sculpture. What's trending in San Francisco? If you're walking by the YBCA, you can see firsthand — at least through light patterns that reflect the city's volatile internet habits.
Murmur Wall debuts Thursday at 6 p.m. and continues through May 31, 2017, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St., S.F. Free; 415-978-2700 or ybca.org. More

Share

Latest in Calendar

Browse Best Of

Share

Latest in Best Of

Mashing up different world cuisines is usually a popular conceit for new quick-service eateries and food trucks to make a quick buck and gain Instagram fame, but Volta has shown how well global cross-pollination works on a refined plate without stretching for novelty or pretense in the process.

There are a number of reasons why you should see a show at The Regency Ballroom — its ornate, turn-of-the-century architecture and eclectic lineup of performers, to name a few — but no reason is more compelling than the venue's ample seating.

As we've noted in this space before, real legal and political hearings don't often feature the Perry Mason specialty of the guilty party loudly and unambiguously admitting wrongdoing on the stand. And yet everything about the Academy of Art University seems to be surreal -- so why shouldn't it merrily violate this norm?

On Thursday the Planning Commission will huddle in a closed-session meeting with members of the City Attorney's office and could potentially decide to sue the for-profit university. It's a move the Academy's many critics hope the city will make -- and wonder what the hell took so long.

"This is basically their style," said land-use attorney Sue Hestor of the Academy. "They do things and then ask for permission." Hestor claimed that the Academy has been knowingly skirting city laws and converting buildings into dorms and classrooms without obtaining conditional use permits from the city since at least 2005, and a lawsuit could have come any time since then.

Our call to Correa, the Academy's planning director, has not been returned.

While, in the past, the Academy has claimed it didn't know it wasn't legal to, say, buy an SRO hotel or apartment, boot everyone out, begin stuffing four students in a room, and then start counting the money, the planning department claimed the Academy knows exactly what it's doing. Last year, city planner Scott Sanchez told SF Weekly that the Academy was hit with a bevy of violations in 2006, yet continued obtaining properties and converting them without permits in 2007. That "blows their alibi about being ignorant out of the water," he said at the time. City planners we talked to on Monday reiterated that the Academy was "well aware" of what the legal requirements it blew off when obtaining and occupying subsequent properties.

Going back several decades, the Academy has at least 14 pending conditional use permits on file -- meaning they occupied that many structures and converted them to academic or residential uses without going through legal channels. In other words, the Academy's current situation -- which may finally get it sued by the city -- is almost as old as Perry Mason.

"They're huge. If you go after them with a lawsuit they'll throw pretty good legal talent back at you," said Brad Paul, a former city deputy mayor, and staunch critic of the Academy. "Unless someone is pushing the city to do it, the city's opinion [may have been] 'Why get into that fight?' But now, I think outrage has built to the point where the city has got to act."

About The Author

Bio:
Joe Eskenazi was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and attended U.C. Berkeley. He never left.
"Your humble narrator" was a staff writer and columnist for SF Weekly from 2007 to 2015.
He resides in the Excelsior with his wife, 4.3 miles from his birthplace and 5,474 from hers.

Like us on Facebook

Slideshows

Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"